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Oeuvre : Les Caractères , Auteur :La Bruyère

Pathway: Social Comedy Excerpt: Giton
INTRODUCTION :

La Bruyère is a moralist from the 17th century primarily known for his collection of portraits: The Characters in which he caricatures
certain social behaviors that the author describes as "the revenge of talent and spirit over birth and fortune." Through the
portrait of Giton that we will study (today), excerpt from chapter 6 titled 'on the goods of fortune' La Bruyère denounces the power of
money on physical appearance and on social relationships.

Reading of the excerpt (2 mins)

Announcement of the issue
How does this portrait of Giton allow the author to denounce the predominance of money over appearance, behavior, and the
social relations?

Announcement of movements

1) L1…L2: Physical portrait of Giton.

2) L2…L6: Vulgar behavior of the character.
3) L6…L14 : Let’s go out in society.
4) L14…fin: moral portrait of the character.

LINEAR ANALYSIS
Movement No. 1:Physical portrait of Giton.

P1/Giton has a fresh complexion, a full face and sagging cheeks, a fixed gaze.
The name of the character inaugurates the first sentence. We
and assured, broad shoulders, high stomach, firm walk and find here the usual organization in The Characters.
deliberate. At first glance, one notices the brevity of the physical portrait.
Enumeration of the character's different physical traits.
The whole appearance of Giton is evoked by starting from the head.
up to the gait, including the build. This
Technique is considered a virtue of the time that
Condense all the meaning in a few words. The description that wears out.
a vocabulary related to good health shows a
wealthy character. The adjectives "fresh", full
"dangling", "high" evoke abundance or even
overweight.

Partial summary: right away, in this quick overview of Giton's physical portrait, the caricature appears through the exaggeration of
physical traits of the character.
Movement No. 2: Vulgar behavior of the character.

After the physical character, La Bruyère is interested in

P2/He speaks with confidence; he makes the one who is holding the conversation repeat himself, and he doescharacter
not behavior that is summarized in his
tastes only mediocrely all that he tells him. daily concerns. Priority is given to the art of
the conversation that translates into the lexical field of speech.
The lack of savoir-faire is evident throughout all the awkwardness.
what Giton causes to his interlocutor and which is conveyed to
through the restriction.
P3 :He unfolds a large handkerchief and blows his nose with a loud noise; he It is also noted that Giton is trying to stand out.
coughs loudly far away, and sneezes very high. remind her that this is a characteristic of society of
17th century. The theatricality of Giton's gestures shows
the character's desire to stand out through actions
who, in society, lack delicacy and refinement.
Bruyère enjoys the gestures of his character.

The parallelism in addition to the antithesis 'day' and 'night' makes

to highlight the character's ease who seems to have no worries about
P4:He sleeps during the day, he sleeps at night, and deeply; he snores. No money worries. The adverb appears at the end of the
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company a phrase as an addition, conveys a certain irony from

the moralist who highlights all the exaggerated well-being of
his character. Even while sleeping, Giton attracts attention by
his snoring;
La Bruyère describes Giton in the company of others at the table.
(considered the best place to judge someone) and in the
promenade. The comparison through the superlative translates the
reign of the character over the world around them. The repetition
P5He occupies more space at the table and in the promenade than another. He holds.
the third person personal pronounthpersonne du singulierplusieurs
the middle by walking with his peers; they stop, and we stop; he
shows that everything revolves around him. In return, the
continue to walk, and we walk: everyone adjusts to him. He
other characters are reduced to anonymity through the
does not interrupt them, one
indefinite pronoun 'one'. Giton's influence on others is
listens as long as he wants to talk; we agree with him, we believe the
determinant. The humorous parallelism clearly shows that it
news that he spills. is the engine of the company and that 'everyone adjusts to him'.
The opposition that is expressed sometimes through negation sometimes through
through semantics highlights all the advantages of Giton over the
others. No one dares to contradict it. It is observed by
consequently, Giton does not respect the art of conversation,
representative element of the 'honest man' of the 17th century
century.

Partial synthesis: during this movement, it was clear that Giton does not respect the art of conversation, a representative element of
"the honest man" of the 17th century.
Movement No. 3: Giton in Society

If he sits down, you see him sink into an armchair, crossing his... The hypothesis "if he sits..." followed by a long
legs one over the other, frown, lower his hat over his enumeration spells out the different behaviors of
eyes to see no one, or to raise it later, and discover his forehead
by pride and by boldness. Giton in society. We notice that the character
tries to attract attention through his every little action and
gestures. The theatrical dimension is confirmed in
this final phase of the portrait that La Bruyère
détaille en dépit de sa brièveté. Tout chez le
The character leads one to believe that he does everything to attract.
the attention towards him. The circumstantial complement
but also translates the disrespect of Giton towards
lives of others.
Partial synthesis: although very brief, this movement describes a disrespectful behavior that once again distances the character from the inherent refinement.
in the classical century.

Movement No. 3:Moral portrait of the character.

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The long enumeration in the final sentence paints a picture.

He is gloomy, a big laugher, impatient, presumptuous, angry, libertine, the character's morality. The phrase itself is remarkable,
through its rhythmic effects and its construction. The antithesis
politics, mysterious about the affairs of the time; he believes he has talent and
the spirit. He is rich. represents two diametrically opposed states of mind. The list
eight qualifiers organized from positive to negative give way
the advantage in the negative. Indeed, the morality of Giton is
uncertain since he is for example libertine, character trait
rejected by the society of the 17th century.

The final sentence solves the riddle since the moralist gives
an explicit explanation of the different behaviors of
Giton. If the answer is found at the end of Giton's portrait, it is
to follow the literary fashion of the time that favors the
riddles.

Partial synthesis: it is understood at the end of this last part that all the abuse that Giton allows himself is strictly related to money.
General conclusion
Devoid of manners, Giton owes all his power over others to money. In his chapter 'On the Goods of Fortune', La Bruyère
satirizes the wealthy of the 17th century who are vicious, arrogant, and unbearable, and whose only merit lies in their wealth.
this portrait of Giton, the character clearly stands out from the aristocratic ideal of the time.
.